A Peek Inside Walt Disney World’s 1984 Pictorial Souvenir Booklet

And a little bit on why vintage Disney ephemera matters...

There’s just something about flipping through old Disney Park souvenir books that I love. They are filled with all sorts of little details that you just don’t find anywhere else. I recently picked up a new one for my collection and I’m excited to share a peek inside!

Last month, I came across a souvenir booklet for sale on Facebook Marketplace for just $10 CAD. I’ve been trying to collect guides and special publications like this, so I was excited to add this one to my collection.

The gentleman I bought it from seemed thrilled to sell this to me—he had seen a picture of Spaceship Earth from my last trip to EPCOT on my Facebook profile and knew he was selling to a true fan.

When I arrived to pick up the book, we got chatting. I shared how I collect Disney nonfiction books and other pieces of ephemera. He was so happy to hear that I wasn’t a flipper, but a collector.

He went on to tell me how he had visited EPCOT when it was still under construction. A buddy of his was a welder and worked on building Spaceship Earth, while his wife worked on the topiaries. He had visited them and got a tour of the park before it was opened to the public.

Hands down, one of the coolest Facebook Marketplace interactions I’ve ever had!

Walt Disney World: A Pictorial Souvenir Featuring The Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center was published in 1984 by Walt Disney Productions. Inside you'll find snapshots of The Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center as they were in the 1980’s, with photos and descriptions of attractions, resorts, and more.

One of the reasons I collect items like this, beyond my love of flipping through them, is due to the valuable information they contain. What’s great about souvenir booklets like this one is that they capture how the parks were at a specific point in time.

So much has changed over the years, with attractions being updated, reimagined, or removed entirely. For example, this particular booklet features attractions and spaces that are no longer operating at Walt Disney World, such as Horizons, River Country, and Discovery Island.

I love being able to look back and see not only how these things once were, but also how they were talked about at the time. I once had an instance where I was only able to find information about a particular park event from a publication like this one. Sometimes, these booklets include information that hasn’t been reprinted anywhere else, making them incredibly valuable for researchers and collectors alike.

I hope that by sharing this booklet, you’ve gained a new appreciation for older ephemera like this. I’m so happy to have found this for my collection—it really feels like a mini-time capsule. Through these pages, I can step back in time and discover pieces of the parks I never got to experience in person, but can still connect with through souvenirs like this one.

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As always, thank you so much for reading, everyone! Your support is truly appreciated!